


Brotherband and Ranger’s Apprentice Oneshots

by UnicornsAreFish789



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan, The Brotherband Chronicles - John Flanagan
Genre: Brotherband, Brotherband Chronicles - Freeform, Crossover, Fluff, Fluffy, Ill take your suggestions!, John Flanagan, Multi, Rangers Apprentice - Freeform, Ranger’s Apprentice, The world needs more brotherband fanfictions, any ship any series, oneshots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-03-29 17:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19024471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornsAreFish789/pseuds/UnicornsAreFish789
Summary: This is just a bunch of Ranger’s Apprentice and Brotherband short stories. I encourage you to give me suggestions for the story that you want and I will do my best to make it. My upload schedule depends on how many suggestions I receive.





	1. Chapter 1

G-day everyone!

So I just want you to know that I LOOVVEEE John Flanagan’s books! They’re the only thing that I have been reading these days and the only inspiration I have for fan fiction. If you don’t read any of John Flanagan’s books then you are missing out on some great stuff.

So, welcome to my fan fiction. As you can see in the summary these are little Brotherband and RA short stories. I’ll try to make it fluffy, because fluff is my favourite genre of fanfics. I’ll also try to make your suggestions a reality, so go ahead and start commenting! Any ship, any series! You can have the Herons battle Morgarath for all I care.

~UnicornsAreFish789


	2. A Skirl’s best friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The loss of a much-loved crew member has wounded Hal very deeply. Thorn steps in to be the father figure that Hal never had.

“He’s still in his room,” Karina sighed. “I’m getting really worried about him...” She was sitting at one of the tables of her empty eating house and Thorn was sitting across from her. Thorn glanced in the direction of his skirl’s bedroom. It hurt him to see Hal this way, sitting alone and away from his friends. Thorn was upset about her death as much as the rest of the crew, but it seemed to hurt Hal the most.

It was during their last voyage. They had traveled to Araluen to pick up some documents and updates from the king and deliver them to Erak. But things didn’t go too well on the last day. A group of bandits had infiltrated the village nearest to castle Araluen and were burning and killing all that stood in their way. The Herons, as well as the other Skandian crew that had been sent to the country as part of the treaty, worked together to defeat these ruffians and save the village. But during the final stretch, the unthinkable happened. 

Hal was a part of a one on one battle with one of the attackers. He was wounded and he felt like he was going to be defeated, but something changed all that. He saw a giant flurry of black and tan fur flying towards his opponent and making noises. It wasn’t a bark or a growl, it was more like a roar. Kloof barged into the terrified swordsman and clamped her jaws down on his sword hand like a bear trap. The man tried to shake her off, but her entire weight bore down on him and she didn’t show any sign of letting go of his hand. But then, she stopped. She let go of his hand with a yelp and fell of his body with a metre and a half long spear in her side. Hal watched the scene play out, eyes widened with confusion, which soon gave way to white hot fury. While Kloof was attacking Hal’s opponent, another bandit had seen what was going on. Without hesitation, he threw the spear at the enraged dog with the objective of killing her. That man didn’t last long as Hal’s sword slit through his chest. 

Thorn and the rest of the brotherband rounded the corner to find the the depressing sight of Hal crouched down beside Kloof with tears in his eyes. Her beautiful, thick coat had been soaked in blood that continued to spread every second. For every breath she took, she gave a loud whine of pain.Everyone was thinking the exact same thing, this dog wasn’t going to survive. With great effort, Kloof dragged herself over to her master and laid her had on his lap. She looked into his eyes and whined pitifully, as if to say “everything will be okay”. Shaking, Hal place his head on Kloof’s forehead and gently stroked her neck with trembling hands. He stayed that way, even after Kloof gave a final, shuddering gasp, and moved no more.

The trip home had a thick, melancholy atmosphere hanging over the whole crew. Kloof was a naughty dog who constantly chewed everyone’s belongings, be she wasn’t a bad dog. She was loyal and she wanted to protect everyone she loved. She loved all those times where she would sail on the Heron amongst her human friends, but now she was gone. She died protecting the one who took her in and forgave her for her mistakes. Every night, the crew could tell that Hal was crying. He would hold his breath to drown out his quiet sobs, but everyone knew the state that he was in and they felt that the kindest thing they could do was let him let it out. By the time they got back to Hallasholm, they rarely saw their skirl. He would usually spend his time in his room at home and not doing anything but mourning the loss of his dear friend. Thorn lived with him and his mam and he spent his days worrying about the state that his friend was in. But now, he decided he had to do something about Hal. Hal needed comfort and support from someone who was there and understood him. He saw himself as Hal’s step father after he and Karina became official, so now it was time to start acting like one.

“I’m going to talk to him,” Thorn finally said as he stood up from his chair. Karina looked up at him and frowned slightly. 

“Are you sure?” She asked him. Thorn nodded.

“I want to help him. He’s been alone for too long,” 

***

Thorn knocked on Hal’s door with his non-wooden hand. He heard no reply, so he turned the handle and let himself in. Hal was lying on his bed and his tear-stained face was staring up at the ceiling. His curtains were drawn and a gloomy darkness filled the room. Thorn sauntered across the room in two steps and pulled the curtains open, letting golden sunlight flood into the room. He then sat at the end of the bed Hal was lying in. Hal looked at Thorn with a questioning look in his eyes. Thorns cleared his throat and was looking for how to start the conversation.

“I was, uh, wondering if you wanted to talk,” he finally said. Hal stayed silent and Thorn continued. 

“It’s okay to talk about your feelings you know. You’re safe to talk to me about your problems.,” he said. “You shouldn’t be going through this alone you know, I made that mistake a long time ago.” Hal swallowed twice and gathered his thoughts, before replying in a shaky, monotone voice.

“I’m s-sorry for being so out of sorts the past week...” Thorn smiled sadly and placed his strong hand on Hal’s shoulder.

“It was completely normal for you to feel like that Hal, especially considering how close you were to her,” he said. Hal sat up and averted his gaze to a small rock on the floor. He had so much he wanted to talk about, but he didn’t know how to start. Thorn could tell he was having difficulty, so he decided to help him.

“Do you feel as if you were responsible for what happened?” He asked. Hal nodded slowly and responded,

“I was so focused on what was going on in front of me, I should have seen the person with the spear and stopped... I should have...” he then collapsed into violent sobs again. Thorn pulled Hal into a one-armed hug, and Hal accepted it. He was grateful to Thorn and his ways with words and his ability to read the room and know how others are feeling. Hal realised that he really needed this. 

“Th-ank y-you, Thorn I’m, so sorry... I... I j-just really miss her...” he choked, his voice wracked with sobs. Thorn nodded.

“Me too,” he whispered. He looked down fondly at the boy and squeezed his shoulder. He was going to be alright. As long as he doesn’t choose to go through this alone, he would heal. Slowly but surely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making it so depressing! D,:  
> I really wanted some sort of bonding moment between Hal and Thorn, and so I settled on Thorn comforting Hal after some sort of tragedy.  
> Does this look like something that would happen between the two characters?  
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ~UnicornsAreFish789


	3. Wings of fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While looking for firewood, Madison discovers something that everyone believed wasn’t real at all. And yet here she is, staring into it’s golden eyes.

Madison always thought of dragons as terrifying beasts. From the books she read they described dragons as winged lizards who are bigger than a two story building and could set entire villages ablaze and could collapse castle Araluen with one swipe of their huge, razor sharp claws. She never really believed these creatures were real, but there she was, looking at what could be none other than a real life dragon.

It looked very different from the pictures she had seen. First of all, it wasn’t as big as a two story building, more like the size of a full-grown dog. It’s scales were a dark scarlet and it has dusty yellow armour plates all down its belly and yellow horns on its head. The tail was quite long and grew to a whip-thin end, and it had a long snout. It’s wings were folded in at the moment, but they looked like they could take up half of its entire body when they’re extended. The most interesting feature was it’s eyes. They were the colour of pure gold and their gaze was fixed on Maddie’s.

Maddie had no idea if this creature was aggressive, so she stayed still in hopes that they wouldn’t see her as a threat. Her ranger cloak must have been confusing the dragon as it had a look of something that had no idea what it was looking at. 

This is amazing! Maddie thought. I never knew I would find something like this! 

She wanted to look closer so she could study it more, but she didn’t want to scare it into running away, or even worse, attacking her. She suddenly had an idea and slowly opened the bag she was carrying that held firewood. She opened up a side pocket and carefully pulled out something wrapped in a cloth, all while keeping eye contact with the scaled creature. She unwrapped the cloth and there was a cold chicken leg that she had saved from lunch earlier.

Ever so slowly, she held out the leg to the dragon. It flinched slightly when it saw Madison move and caused her to fear that it would run away. But the creature moved closer when it saw what was in her hand. It slowly moved towards her while crouching, it’s clawed feet barely making a sound on the forest floor. It sniffed the chicken leg with curiosity. Then after finding that it was edible, it’s small, razor-sharp teeth delicately snatched the meat right from the ranger’s hand and started gnawing on it. Madison heart a loud crunch as it bit through the bone. After the whole thing had been devoured, the dragon’s large, golden eyes looked up at Maddie’s face. It nudged it’s nose against her outstretched hand, and she was feared it was going to bite. But it was only checking if there was any more food. The scales on the creature’s nose was smooth and slightly warm, and up close she could see some flecks of yellow splattered in it. It looked like something flicked yellow paint onto it’s nose. The dragon glanced up at Maddie. They held each other’s gaze for some time, until the winged lizard let out a strange noise. It was like a growl, but a bit more squeaky. The slim creature extended its wings and propelled itself into the trees. 

***

“Hey Maddie! I asked if you wanted another mug?” Will said to his apprentice, raising an eyebrow at her. Slightly startled, Madison looked over at Will who was holding the coffee pot. She nodded at him.

“Oh yeah, sure,” she said. The two rangers were sitting around a small campfire in the woods. Their horses, Bumper and Tug, were nipping at the grass nearby and whinnying at each other. Madison stared into her mug of coffee and frowned a little. The encounter with the dragon put her off a little. Many people believed they were only creatures of myths and legends, and yet she had seen one with her own eyes. She couldn’t have imagined it because she felt it as it nudged it’s nose against her hand. She wanted to tell Will about it, but she wasn’t sure if he would believe her. Will didn’t seem like the kind of person who would believe in slightly bigger lizards with wings.

“Hey Maddie, you seem a little distracted,” Will said, “Did you see something in the woods that scared you or confused you?” Making up her mind, Maddie sighed softly.

“Promise you won’t laugh?” She asked her mentor, still looking into the black liquid in her coffee mug. Will nodded. Gathering her thoughts, she spoke to Will.

“I saw a weird creature earlier,” she mumbled. Will gestured her to go on. 

“It was weird because, I believed that it wasn’t real. So many people believed it wasn’t real. It was scaly and had wings. Will, I saw a dragon...” she trailed off. She felt slightly foolish for admitting it. Will probably thinks I imagined it or something. She thought.

“You saw a dragon you say?” Will asked her. I knew it, he thinks I’m crazy. Maddie looked up at Will to see if he was confused or humoured, but to his upmost surprise he wasn’t. He was slowly nodding his head with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“So they really aren’t extinct...” he mumbled. Madison couldn’t believe her ears. 

“Wait, you believe me?” She asked quizzically. Will looked over at her and smiled slightly. 

“That’s because I know they are real.” He said, “When I was a boy growing up in Redmont, I did a lot of reading in free time,” he explained to his confused apprentice. “I found a lot of old books in the library, they were diaries from long ago. Apparently, thousands of years ago, Aralaun had dragons all over the country. They weren’t big and they had no fire breath, they were nothing more than pests. They would kill the farmers’ livestock and fly away before they were caught,” Will sighed and looked up at the sky.

“Although, farmers then started setting clever traps for the creatures and killed them to extinction.” Madison looked over at Will in bewilderment. She had no idea he knew so much. Will believed her and all she knew about dragons were wrong.

“Anyway,” Will said as he tossed the dregs of his coffee into the fire, “you were pretty lucky to see a real dragon. Any loud noises would have scared it off immediately.”

As he said this, he stood up to stroke Tug’s mane. Madison stood up and walked over to Bumper, but something made her stop dead in her tracks. There was something in the bushes not too far away from her and her horse. It rustled slightly. Narrowing her eyes, Maddie gripped the hilt of her saxe knife and stared into the leaves. It could be a bird or something, but you never know. Her breathing stopped when she saw it, a pair of bright, golden eyes was staring at her. The eyes wavered slightly as they fixed their gaze on the apprentice. Then, there was a squeaky growl and the eyes disappeared. The leaves rustled, and then remained still.

Madison smiled. She believed this wasn’t the last time she would see the dragon. It was a beautiful creature, and she would hate for it to leave her life just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> The RA universe seems like there could be dragons living in it, so I made a little story about how they were real but then they became extinct.


	4. Bearskin Blankets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ingvar finds that Edvin, the Heron’s healer and cook, had been caught in an avalanche.
> 
> If you enjoy Edvin/Ingvar fluff then you have come to the right place!

“Hey! I found someone else!” Stig called out to the others. 

“Another one? This avalanche really was bad,” Jesper sighed and walked over to his friend, followed by Ingvar. The Herons has been searching the snow for survivors for about an hour now. Earlier, a record-breaking avalanche had terrorised the houses closest to the mountains. It buried everyone who was near these houses in many feet of snow, but luckily the rest of the people of Hallasholm immediately sprung into action and helped look for buried victims. Jesper, Stig and Ingvar has just found someone else who was buried up to their neck in snow. It was a young boy who looked to be in their teenage years. His eyes were closed and his face was deathly pale, but his breath left steamy clouds in the winter air so they knew he was alive. Stig went to lift the boy out of the hole, but something he saw made him stop fast.  
There was something black and soaking wet lying in the snow beside the boy’s head. Stig picked it up and inspected it closely. It was made of wool and looked to be some sort of watch cap, and on the front was a picture of a heron with its wings spread out in flight. Stig’s eyes widened when he saw the bird, and looked down at the boy to inspect his face. He let out a cry of alarm when he realised what he was looking at.

“It’s Edvin!” He called out in panic to the others.

“What? Is it really him?” Ingvar cried. He dropped to his knees in front of his frozen crew mate and in one swift movement he thrust his huge hands into the snow and under Edvin’s arms. He then yanked him out of the hole, throwing slushy snow in all directions.

“He doesn’t look too good,” Jesper said nervously, “he doesn’t live too far from the mountain so he was bound to get buried, I should have known!” Ingvar said nothing. He had taken off his own watch cap and pulled it down on Edvin’s head and over his ears. He was then cradling his crew member in his enormous arms and staring down at his pale face. 

“We need to get him to a warm spot, and fast!” Stig said as he got up from his crouching position.

“But where is the closest place that hadn’t been buried in snow?” Jesper asked. Stig stood for a few seconds to gather his thoughts.

“Hal’s place,” He finally said.

***

“I have the fireplace lit, please take him over here,” Hal’s mother, Karina, led the four boys towards the fireplace in the sitting room. She was the only one at home, as Hal and Thorn had gone out with the others to help with the people near the mountains. Edvin was still asleep, but he was tensed up and shivering in Ingvar’s arms. The giant boy held him closer as he walked over to the crackling fire. Karina was holding a bearskin blanket in her arms and she proceeded to carefully wrap it around Edvin. Ingvar set down his bundle and stared at his face. 

“Is he going to be alright, Karina?” He asked nervously. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing his friend. Karina places her hand on Edvin’s forehead and keeps it there for a few seconds. She then slowly nodded.

“He is showing the symptoms of hypothermia, but as long as he stays warm and gets plenty of rest he should be okay,” she said. The three boys breathed a collective sighed in relief. 

“You three should rest too,” she said, “I have a coffee pot on the stove and you can help yourself”

“Thank you Karina,” Jesper smiled slightly. They had been outside in the snow for hours now and a fresh cup of hot coffee sounded very pleasant indeed. Only Ingvar didn’t move. He didn’t want to leave Edvin’s side. He was afraid if he stopped watching him, he would have died when he got back. Karina seemed to sense what Ingvar was thinking, and she placed her hand on his arm.

“Don’t worry about him okay. He’s in good hands” She softly told him. Swallowing back the lump in his throat, he nodded. 

***

An hour later, the door opened and three figures walked out of the snow and into the the warm light of the eating house. Hal and Thorn immediately wore looks of concern when they saw what was going on at the fireplace. 

“What happened to Edvin? He asked Ingvar, who was crouched down by the fireplace next to a sleeping Edvin. He looked up at Hal and quickly let go of Edvin’s hand before responding.

“He got caught in the avalanche, your mam says he has hypothermia,” he mumbled and blinked back tears. Kloof walked over to the fireplace and sat down beside the two figures. 

“Does his parents know?,” Thorn asked. Ingvar shook his head. 

“They don’t know he’s here, but he can hardly go home in this condition,” he sighed. Thorn nodded.

“I can go to his house and tell his parents,” he continued, “In the meantime you should go home Ingvar, Stig and Jesper already left,” 

Ingvar’s face fell when he heard the last sentence. He didn’t want to leave Edvin, not after all he has done for him and the crew.

“I, um, want to stay the night...” he mumbled, “Edvin stayed with me when I had that arrow wound, I want to do the same for him.”

Thorn considered the request, then turned to Hal. 

“Do you want him to stay here?” He asked the skirl. Hal nodded immediately.

“I understand why Ingvar is so desperate to stay. I will let him sleep here,” he said.

“Very well then,” Thorn said as he opened the front door, “I’ll tell his parents as well as Edvin’s,” when the door shut behind Thorn, Ingvar nodded gratefully to Hal.

“Thank you,” he whispered 

***

Around midnight, the fire started dying down to coals. The only sounds that we’re present in the house that wasn’t the snapping and crackling of the fireplace, was the deep, quiet breathes of Edvin. Ingvar was sitting near him with his knees brought up to his chin and a bearskin blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He didn’t want to leave his smallest friend alone in the cold, he had done too much for the brotherband. He may not have done a lot of fighting but he kept the team alive in other ways. He could turn a couple strips of dried beef and some bread into a memorable meal. And his healing skills...  
He did all he could to save Ingvar when he had a fever from an arrow wound. Ingvar was about to nod off, but a small whisper from beside him jolted him awake immediately.

“Ingvar? Are you awake?,” Edvin asked. He had just woken up and he had no idea where he was. He could only recognise the boy sitting next to him, and the relief was clearly written on that boy’s face.

“Edvin, you’re awake!” Ingvar whispered, “how are you feeling?” Edvin sat up and replied,

“Pretty cold, and sore” he sighed, “I might get sick soon.”

“Anything I can do?” Ingvar asked him. Edvin pulled his blanket further over his shoulders and looked down at his feet.

“Is it, um, alright if I sit a bit closer to you?” He mumbled. Ingvar nodded and patted the spot next to him. The healer smiled slightly and crawled over to his friend. Ingvar then took his blanket and draped it over Edvin’s shoulders as well as his. The fire was dying and the cold air was seeping into the house. The two boys sat in silence for what seemed like half the night, just staring into the fireplace. 

Ingvar then felt Edvin’s small head lean against his shoulder and place his hand on Ingvar’s. He was sleeping peacefully. Smiling, Ingvar carefully wrapped his arm around the boy and pulled him into a more comfortable position by his side. They shared each other’s warmth and company throughout the rest of the night. 

And that was how Karina found them the next morning, wrapped in each other’s blankets and embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ingvar is my favourite character in the Brotherband series (I have a soft spot for gentle giants) and Edvin is my second favourite.   
> I was just thinking how Edvin is the smallest in the group and Ingvar is the biggest and how cute it would look if they snuggled or something. And so that’s how this story was born!
> 
> If you want me to write a story about your favourite relationships in BB or RA then don’t hesitate to ask!
> 
> ~UnicornsAreFish789


	5. Stingers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilan finds out he’s allergic to bees.
> 
>  
> 
> This one shot is set in the time when Gilan was still Halt’s apprentice.

...

Halt immediately looked up from what he was reading when he heard a loud cry coming from the area where Gilan was chopping wood. He could see that his apprentice was holding his left arm and his teeth were gritted in pain. His axe that he was using to chop wood was lying on its side beside him, and for a split second Halt was afraid Gilan had an accident. But to his relief, he could see no blood.

“Hey Gilan! What happened?” He asked as he got up from under the tree he was sitting by and walked over to the boy.   
Wincing a little, Gilan replied.

“I don’t know, I think a bee was on my arm when I swung the axe and it stung me,” he said, “I never knew how painful a bee sting can be.” Halt glanced at his apprentice’s forearm where the bee supposedly stung him.

“We should get that stinger out,” he said before turning and heading towards the cottage. Still nursing his arm, Gilan followed. Halt led him over to the dining table inside and gestured for him to sit down. When Gilan was seated, he held out his arm for his mentor to inspect.   
Halt could see the thin, black stinger in the boy’s sleeve near his wrist. Then slowly and carefully, he pulled up his sleeve, only to stop and let out a short exclamation of shock.

The stinger was no longer in the skin as it was still trapped in the fabric of Gilan’s sleeve, but a grotesque sight met his eyes. The skin was red and inflamed and had swollen terribly. Small, red dots were scattered around the area and there was a tiny spot of blood in the middle where the skin was broken. Gilan stared at his arm with a blank face.

“Oh, well that was unexpected.” He said. Halt had finally calmed down and was now deciding what to do first. He had to remove the sting from Gilan’s sleeve before it could do any more damage. He should also clean the would. 

With the stinger removed and his sleeve rolled all the way up, Gilan waited patiently for Halt to return with some water. His wrist hurt like hell, but it wasn’t itching and his breathing was normal, so it wasn’t too bad of a reaction.   
Halt came back with a bowl of cold water and a clean cloth and placed them both at the table. 

“Now, this may be a little painful,” he said, “but I’ll have to clean it if we want to make it better.” Looking down at his swollen arm and back at Halt, Gilan nodded and prepared for the worst.  
The cloth’s touch worsened the pain at first, but the cold water seemed to soothe it. Halt was bent over the boy’s arm and gently dabbing the red area with the cloth. He could tell that Gilan was in great discomfort and tried work as quick as he could but gentle enough so that he wouldn’t cause more pain. 

Gilan dug his fingernails into his palm during the operation but made sure to keep his left arm limp and relaxed. He wouldn’t want to make it worse by completely tensing up.   
Halt had finally finished cleaning and he draped the cool cloth over Gilan’s arm, which had considerably gotten less red, and was searching through his medicine kit. He finally pulled out a small, wooden container and unscrewed the lid. It was filled with a soothing cream, which he smeared the inflamed area with.

“Feeling any better?” He asked Gilan, who nodded and grinned at him.

“Much better,” he responded, “do I need to go back to work?” He asked. Halt looked down at Gilan’s arm doubtfully. 

“It’s getting pretty late,” he said, “you should rest that arm until the reaction goes down.” Halt got up and walked over to the stove.  
Gilan, still grinning, replied,

“But it’s still the afternoon,” and indeed it was. The sun was still visible and the sky was the brightest blue. Halt put down the coffee pot onto the stove. 

“No it’s not,” he said, “It’s very late and you should rest that arm”


	6. Storms and confusion- Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a sudden rainstorm catches the Heron brotherband completely off guard, Hal finds that two of his crew members had been separated from the group and is lost in an unknown island.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a 2 part story because it’s a bit longer than the others and I need to upload more often.

The last crew member, which happened to be Jesper, managed to get inside the cave that Hal had found. Jesper squeezed the water out of his hair and breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Whew, glad you found this shelter Hal,” he said, “It was raining so hard, I could barely see my nose!”  
Hal nodded at his friend and looked out the mouth of the cave. Rain was coming down in sheets now and everything was dark. The storm had caught the whole crew off guard. Everyone was getting ready to build a shelter on a small island they had found. They knew it would rain, but they never knew it would rain this heavily. Everyone was stumbling around in the darkness and trying to find out where they were, when Hal managed to find a small cave and called everyone over.   
Now that everyone was safe, Hal was afraid of something else. The heron was still out there. It was beached in a safe area, Hal made sure of it, but he didn’t know if it was safe from the storm. If there was any strong wind then the beautiful ship could be smashed to pieces or blown out to sea. Thorn sensed his uneasiness and walked over beside him.

“The storm won’t do too much damage to our ship,” he said. Hal looked up at Thorn questioningly and he explained.

“The worst that is happening is heavy rain,” he said, “no wind or lightning or anything like that.”  
Hal stuck his hand out of the cave and held it there for a few seconds. The cold, fat rain drops battered at his skin, but there wasn’t any wind. All he felt was a weak breeze. Thorn was right.

“This storm is no worse than the one we ran into in the Endless Ocean,” he said. Stig walked over and stood beside his skirl.

“Even if there was some wind, there isn’t really anything we can do about the Heron,” the first mate said, “there is so much rain, we could easily get lost in it.”

“And,” Thorn pointed out, “even if we do find the Heron, how will we take it to a safe spot if we can’t see anything? We might unknowingly destroy in in the process.” 

“But that doesn’t make me any less nervous for our ship,” Hal mumbled. Stig nodded his understanding.

“I’m pretty nervous as well,” he said. Hal decided to turn his attention to his crew. Anyone could have hurt themselves during the mad dash through the rain.

“Hey Edvin, would you mind checking if anyone is hurt?” He called out.   
There was no response.

“Edvin?” Hal asked again. Edvin didn’t answer. Uneasiness rising in his chest, the skirl looked around the room for the healer. It was dark, but he could just make out the shapes of his crew members. He could see the large, muscular figure of Ingvar and the tall, slim build of Lydia. Edvin was nowhere in sight. Hal’s eyes widened.

“Does anyone see Edvin?” He asked desperately. The dark silhouette that seemed to be Stefan shook their head.

“I don’t know, I don’t think he made it to the cave,” he said. 

“So he could be lost?” Hal’s asked, his voice cracking a little.

“He’s not the only one Hal,” one of the twins said miserably. Hal couldn’t tell if it was Ulf or Wulf who spoke as it was so dark. Although, he could barely tell who was who in broad daylight.

“What do you mean? Is someone else lost?,” he asked, anxiety rising in his chest.

“It’s Wulf,” Ulf said, “Wulf never made it to the cave. I have no idea if he is with Edvin or not.”

***

Blood trickled out of the shallow gash on Wulf’s forehead, the rain turning the thick, red substance into a thin, pink stream. Wulf cursed quietly. His head hurt like mad and he had no idea where the rest of the brotherband was. He had heard Hal calling to everyone some time ago but he couldn’t see a thing through the rain. He felt like he was moving further and further away from the voice of his skirl. 

Suddenly, he had tripped over a small rock and his forehead grazed against a tree branch and opened up a painful cut.  
He was standing there with his hand pressed up against his head, trying to stop the constant flow of blood. He looked up at the tree that hurt him ready to scream curses at it, when he realised he could use it as a temporary shelter. The thick leaves stopped most of the rain from coming through. It wasn’t as good as the caves and rock formations that lined the island, but he didn’t want to get any more injured than he already was.

Sighing heavily, Wulf propped himself up against the trunk of the tree and tore off a part of his sleeve to wrap around his head. He wasn’t too worried about the cut, head injuries tended to bleed a lot more than others. Now that most of the rain was out of the way, Wulf looked around to see where he was.

He was no longer on the beach; the ground he was sitting on was covered in dirt and leaves instead of sand. Through the darkness, he could see the outline of other trees. He must have been a long way away from where he had started if he had made it to the forest. Wulf noticed something else in the trees as well. 

There was a small figure that was hunched over under another tree. He could see the white oval of someone’s face through the darkness so it must have been a person. Wulf felt great relief when he saw that the person was wearing a black hat. It must be a person from his crew. He heaved himself to his feet and walked over to the person, being careful with where he placed his feet so he wouldn’t fall over again. The person sitting under the tree saw Wulf, and their face split into a grin. 

“Ulf? Is that you?” Wulf heard the boy, who happened to be Edvin, ask him.

“Yes, that’s me!” Wulf replied. Edvin sighed with relief.

“Thank goodness I’m not alone out here!” He said, “I would have gone back to the ship but I would have gotten myself even more lost.”

“Same story here,” Wulf replied. Edvin’s delighted grin suddenly turned into a frown of concern.

“Ulf, what happened to your head?” He asked and pointed to the bandage wrapped around his friend’s forehead. Wulf touched it lightly.

“I got my head sliced open from a tree branch,” he explained, “it’s fine now.”  
Edvin didn’t look convinced. He checked his pockets for anything he could use to treat the wound, but he couldn’t find anything. 

“I left my medical kit by the fireplace,” he said. The healer stood up from his crouching position under the tree and looked around. The rain had calmed a bit but it was still bucketing down. His medical kid would be soaking wet and ruined at this stage.

“Should we stand here and wait for the rain to stop?” Wulf asked. Edvin frowned slightly as he thought about it. None of them knew how long the wet weather would last and it was likely that the rain would get even heavier. He did know that they couldn’t stay in the forest for very long. 

The sun would set and as night falls, everything would get even more dangerous. They wouldn’t be able to see anything at all and that would increase the chances of collisions and trips. That was why they had to leave immediately.

“We have to go,” Edvin said, “we might just be able to get back to the others safely right now, but at nightfall it would be close to impossible.”   
Wulf nodded his agreement. 

“Well then let’s go,” he said. The two boys carefully looked around to check if there was anything they recognised that would lead them back to their ship. Wulf saw the tree he ran into as well as a deep indent in the mud from where he fell over. He decided to check for footprints that would lead him to safety.

There were footprints in the mud, but they were hard to see because they had collapsed in on themselves from being filled with so much water, but they were clear enough. 

“We need to stick together, the last thing we need is both of us separating,” Wulf said to Edvin. The healer nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you think Edvin and Wulf gets out of this situation?   
> It’s the holidays for me so I am hoping that I can finish the second part and post it some time this week.  
> Thanks to all those people who left kudos and bookmarked, it warms my heart knowing that some people enjoy my stories. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to suggest story ideas!  
> Any ship, any series!  
> No such thing as a bad idea!  
> Just nothing inappropriate please.
> 
> ~UnicornsAreFish789


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